downs



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. T. DOWNS.

FIRE ALARM SYSTEM. No. 505,819. Patented 001;. 3., 1893.

5 Pave/M51 4,444 w #4447 if J UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

HARRY TOWER DOWNS, NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LOREN N. DOWNS, OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ALARM SYSTEM.

i r d SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,819, dated October 3, 1893.

Application filed October 1, 1 892. Serial No. 447,560. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern: open. The transmitter box is provided with Re it known that I, HARRY TOWER DOWNS, a crank by which an actuating spring may be a citizen of the United States, residing at New wound in the usual manner and the break York, 1n the county of New York and State of wheels in the several boxes have different 5 5 5 New York, have invented certain new and usenumbers of teeth or contacts. The operation ful Improvements in Fire-Alarm Systems; and of any transmitter sends through the receiver Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, magnet a series of impulses corresponding to clear, and exact description of the invention, the number of the box. These impulses ensuch as will enable others skilled in the art to ergize a magnet D of the receiver, see Fig. 2, IO which it appertains to make and use the same. and through asuitable pawl and ratchet mech: This invention relates to fire alarm systems anism rotate an indicator step by step upon for use in hotels or buildings or groups of which are indications, one of which may be buildings where the alarm is to be transmitseen through a slot E in the cover of the reted from one of a series of stations such as the ceiver. Upon the shaft of the indicating disk I 5 stor es or sections of a building to a common is mounted a metal disk F in which is set a station at which it may be retransmitted to a section of insulating material upon which serles of points where warning is needed. when the receiver is not in action bears a con- The object of the invention is to render the tact spring G adapted to operate an alarm ciralarm transmission from the common station cuit. The several gongs included in this cir- 7o 20 automatic in operation. cuit are so organized that the entire force of The several features of novelty will be herethe battery can be concentrated on the releasinafter more fully described in this specificaing magnets one at a time so that a smaller tion and definitely indicated in the appended battery power will suffice for a successful opfl eration of all the gongs. A rheotomic bell is 25 In the accompanying drawings which illusmounted on the receiver comprising magnet trate the invention Figure 1 is a diagram- H and automatic vibrator placed in a return matic View of an alarm system embodying my branch of the gong releasingcircuit, the point invention. Fig.2illustrates the receiverused of connection with the gong releasing circuit at the central office or common station, adaptbeing beyond the break formed by the insu- 8o 0 ed to indicate to a clerk or employ in charge lating segment in disk F. Thus the operator the location of the fire and to automatically at central office will be notified by the bell send out the alarm. Fig. 3 illustrates the type and the indicator will show the point of origin. of gong used in my system. The interposition of the automatic bell mag- My system may be installed in ahotel, facnet of the receiver in the gong controlling cir- 35 tory or other large building or may include a cuit insures a continuance of the alarm at the series of buildings or even a town or city. At office until the receiver had been reset. This a series of points throughout the installation resetting may be accomplished by operating easily accessible in case of discovery of fire, is a push which releases a check pawl I of the placed a series of transmitter boxes A conratchet wheel of the receiver and permits a 4o taining a break wheel by which a series of spring not shown to restore the ratchet to its electrical impulses indicating the location of normal position when the insulating segment the box may be transmitted to the common supporting the contact spring G opens the station. As illustrated in Fig. l the system alarm circuit. The several alarm gongs are is adapted for use in a building where the electromechanical, the gong circuit being at 5 transmitter boxes are distributed over the theinstant of closure at the receivercomplete several stories and connected in multiple arc through the releasing magnet of the first gong relation to a circuit passing through a magnet only. The armature of the releasing magnet in a receiver B at the ofiice. Each transmitholds a contact arm L against a stop J and ter as will be understood from Fig. 1 comwhen the armature is actuated the arm drops 50 prises a break wheel 0 co-operating with a opening contact atJ and closingitat K. Thus contact spring, the circuit being normally at the instant of closure of the alarm circuit the releasing magnet of the first gong is 0perated and the contact arm drops opening the circuit through the releasing magnet and closing the circuit to the next gong releasing magnet through contact stop K. Suitable means as for example a push button should be provided for lifting arm L and restoring the armature to its normal position.

The operation of the system is as follows: The transmitter upon beingactuated closes the circuit from battery M through the magnet D of the receiver at the office, the successive impulses of the transmitter break wheel rotating the indicator shaft against the tension of its spring. The first closure of the circuit brings the spring G into metallic contact with the disk F thus closing the circuit of the battery N through the vibrator magnet H of the receiver over the path 1, 2, 3, disk F, spring G, wire 4, binding post, magnet 11 and its vibrator, Wires 5 and 6 back to battery N. Another branch is completed from wire 4 to binding post, wire 7, switch 0, wire 8, contact arm L (see Fig. 3) contact J, releasing magnet of first gong and back to battery by wire 9. The gong releasing magnet being actuated the circuit is opened and the arm L completes the circuit through the releasing magnet of the next gong by conductors 10, 11, this action being continued through any number of gongs it may be found necessary to employ. Meantime the action of the transmitter has closed and broken the circuita number of times depending on its location and the indicator in the receiver exposes through the slot the approximate location of the fire, so that measures may be taken at the office to extinguish it. There may be a series of alarm circuits controlled by the battery N and proceeding to difierent parts of the building and these may be coupled in series or multiple are relation to the battery. Switches 0, O are provided at the office by which an alarm may be sent from the officeindependently of the receiver.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a tire alarm system the combination of a series of transmitters at outlying stations, a receiver at a common or central station, an alarm circuit controlled by said receiver, a series of electro-mechanical gongs controlled by said alarm circuit, each gong normally disconnecting the next gong from the circuit but provided with acircuit closing contact to complete the connection when its armature is actuated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY TOWER DOWNS.

Witnesses:

E. C. GRIGG, HARRY S. TUTHILL. 

